RE:RE:RE:EVLV Updates I will always take any Evolv information with a grain of salt - sure PG is out, but the people who hired him are not (and anyone who wanted to could see from a mile away that the guy was crooked). They have made exaggerated claims in the past regarding their product, surely they will also frame their reporting/performance in the absolute best light possible. Still, I agree the numbers sound impressive, but a couple of thoughts:
- 465 I would assume is the number of "lanes," not the number of contracts. If the average contract is around 10 lanes, that's some 47 contracts, which is still a lot but makes sense compared to X1's 1 per week (approximately 12 in a quarter).
- How much of the 465 is from "signed agreements pending installation" (i.e., not new sales)? Notice they say "activated," not "sold." I look forward to seeing their actual new sales (which were already down in Q2).
- They also do not report "net" new (i.e. not clear if any contracts were lost). Similarly, also not clear if they would be counting a renewal as a "new" subscription.
- They mention 100 school buildings, which sounds impressive. However, X1 announced Tift County Schools, which is 11 schools and quite likely more than one building per school. If you assume two buildings per school, which doesn't seem unreasonable, that's 22 on one contract (likely our largest for the quarter, but probably not the only one). Also, schools are where Evolv has historically been the strongest.
- It is no surprise to me that Evolv still outpaces us in revenue. It will take us some time to catch up, but they are running out of cash, and the shenanigans they have been using up until now will no longer be possible (ridiculous sales/marketing spending and giving away the product for free by offering sponsorship deals tied to purchasing their systems).
I do recall how David and Goliath eventually turned out... :)